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Tom Angleberger with Darth Paper, the finger puppet star of his second book in the 'Origami Yoda' series

Tom Angleberger, whose book, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, was chosen by Texas students as the winner of the prestigious 2012 Bluebonnet Award, is a stand-up guy. Tom, whom I interviewed last year, has Asperger Syndrome and has never made a big deal of it — never even spelled out that Dwight, the hero of his Origami Yoda series, has Asperger Syndrome, too.

Now, in the light of the horrific massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where a false spotlight has sadly been put on autism because reports note that the shooter, Adam Lanza, was thought to have Asperger Syndrome, I asked Tom his thoughts and without hesitation, he stepped up to speak for kids who are different and misunderstood. You can read what he has to say in my story Autism advocates fear stigmawhich ran in the DMN’s Metro section today.

Sadly, even though experts agree there is NO link between autism and violence, I learned from talking with Dr. Lisa Pierce, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Lewisville, that parents of her patients who have autism have reason to worry about misplaced fears. Just this week Dr. Pierce told me she was asked by parents to provide a letter about their 18-year-old gentle son with autism that would reassure the extended family that he would be “safe” to be around during the holidays.

I really admire Tom for entering into this fray and speaking up for these kids. I liked his books before. I like them even more now. (Not to mention they teach you how to fold a really cool Origami Yoda, Darth Paper and a Wookie fortune cookie). By the way, if you want to party with other enthusiasts, Denton Public Library‘s Emily Fowler Central Library will be hosting a party with Origam Yoda, Darth Paper and the Fortune Wookie for ages 8-12 Dec. 28 at 4 p.m. I’ll remind you in my Dec. 28 Family Fun column next week.